M81

Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. This is a reprocessing of an image taken in March with more data added on April 11, 2010. There is now a total of 12 hours of exposure. The image was taken through my Hyperion 12.5" astrograph riding on a Paramount ME. The camera is my SBIG STL11000m CCD camera. Click for a larger view.